


We Didn't Start the Fire

by deardmvz



Category: No Fandom
Genre: 18+ characters, 1980s, 80s bad boy, Angst, Angst and Humor, Babysitting, Classic Cars, Dungeons & Dragons References, Fast Cars, Fluff and Angst, Gay, Grocery Store, M/M, Original Character(s), Original Fiction, Texas is a bitch, Work In Progress, but he has a cool car, mlm, oh no the main character is hot, texas has a need for speed
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-22
Updated: 2021-01-26
Packaged: 2021-03-13 17:22:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,381
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28907022
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deardmvz/pseuds/deardmvz
Summary: It's 1985, and Texas Hooper is your typical 80's bad boy. He drives fast, loud cars, he's obsessed with how he looks, and is constantly picking fights. He is all around scary with his loud mouth and his dagger like glares, most people fearing him and staying the fuck out of his way. But, deep down lies a softer side.One that is taking care of his brother and his friends, doing kind little acts, and not putting on his dickbag persona. But of course, he does not want anyone to know that, so he hides it all away.Until he meets Ben Loomis, who takes his feelings and wrenches them up to the surface like an a drill looking for oil.(Title is a reference to We Didn't Start the Fire by Billy Joel)
Kudos: 5





	1. Grocery Stores and Dragons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tex is dragged into babysitting the DnD campaign of his little brother, Sammy. But when they discover there is no food and everyone's hangry, an impromptu grocery store trip is in order.  
> But then Texas spots someone he knows and almost dies on spot.

"Tex, come onnnnnn. You introduced me to this stuff, you could play a little at the least."

  
Sammy, Texas's little brother sat in the black leather passenger seat of his roaring Buick, the muscle cars engine purring and revving up a little as he shifted gears. Tonight was Sammy's DnD night with his friends, all in the 7th grade.  
Sam had gotten his love for DnD from Texas, Tex having dragged him in to play campaigns together when they lived in the middle of Bumfuck Nowhere, Ohio. That was a long time ago though, and Texas wasn't like that anymore. In his own words to Sammy, he wasn't the _'nerd I used to be'._ Still, Sammy suspected that he wanted to play and he offered to let him join in every time. He suspected Texas was just too embarrassed to be a big, buff, scary ass 19 year old guy playing a make pretend game.

Texas groaned at the offer, snarling at Sammy. "No! Here look-" Texas leaned in more to the console of his car, turning up the radio of the car as "Paradise City - Guns N' Roses" scrolled on the little display. The song blasted through the car, the lyrics of "Oh won't you please take me home!" practically screaming at him, drowning out everything as Sammy tried to block out the loudness of the music by clapping his hands over his ears and trying to turn it down. Texas just took his hands off his ears and smacked his hands off the radio.   
"THIS IS HOW I FEEL ABOUT YOUR _STUPID_ GAME SAMUEL. LISTEN TO IT. TAKE ME HOME _BUT NOOOO_ WE HAVE TO GO PLAY BECAUSE JULIA IS GOING ON VACATION TO SANTA MONICA TILL JUNE! REALLY SAMMY?!" He shouted over the music, scowling down at Sammy until he felt the point had gotten across and Sam would be quiet about him and joing in on their session.... for now at least.  
He lowered the music down to a normal but still loud level. The car's purring engine came back, being able to be heard under the music, Tex rolling his eyes at the stupid shit he did for his little brother. Thank god he loved him deep down, even if his exterior would not show it.

* * *

The 1970 Buick Skylark slowed in the driveway of a brown house, Texas finally turning down the radio.  
"Took you long enough." spited Sam as he pressed down on the release of his blue racing harness, shrugging it off as he opened up the Buicks door and started to get out. He was probably still mad at Tex for the music thing.

"Don't you dare slam my door Sa-" and there was a slam in his face. Dear god this kid was a prick sometimes. Texas groaned a little as he undid his own harness, grunting as he took the keys out of the ignition and popped the door open. Tonight he was tasked with babysitting his own little brother and his shitty 11 & 12 year old friends (not really, they were nice kids but Texas was just sour at the moment). He did the babysitting thing regularly now, the kids finally used to him and Claire's mom no longer freaked the hell out by his car and the roars it made as it came down the street.  
HOWEVER, Now all she did was flirt with him, which for Tex was... not enjoyable even if he acted like a good sport.  
Claire, Jamie, Sammy, and Frank were all inside now, probably excitedly talking about tonight's DnD campaign they had been planning over the house landlines for weeks.  
Stepping up and out of the car, he looked in the back to make sure Sammy hadn't tossed any shit back there before he headed towards the door to go clock in for his 4:30 PM to 11:00 PM babysitting shift.  
On his way to the porchway Claire's mother, Mrs. Brookes, popped her head out and ran towards him a little. Texas awkwardly shifted in his tight Levi's, waving politely as he attempted to dodge her. This of course failed, her hands now all in his long Farrah Fawcett esque hair and him being able to smell her perfume. It creeped Tex out, him not enjoying the smell of Christian Dior's " _Poison_ ".

"Wow Rex, did you dye this yourself? It looks so nice on you- you should do it more often, even if you are quite a _sexy_ blonde." Texas wanted to practically throw up in his mouth but just mustered out a calm smirk and a "thank you mam'm, see you at 10" before slipping out under her arms and escaping into the house. She called something after him, but he blocked it out, her wolf whistling at him until he slipped into the door and was gone from her eyes.   
  
The kids were busy in the dining room, setting up and pulling out their dice, figurines, and board to set up. Frank was the DM tonight as per usual, him being the most calm and cool of the kids. He probably was Texas's favorite out of the 5.  
They greeted him as per usual, waving and saying hi before ignoring him practically and going back to their game. All Texas had to do for now was sit on the couch, maybe snatch a beer or two, watch the kids and then make sure everyone was gone by 10.

He sat down in his regular spot on the living room couch with open view of the dining room, the kids chatting away about whatever 7 armed telepathic beast they were fighting tonight. He leaned down a little on the arm, pulling out the vinyl bin and beginning to thumb through it. There wasn't much of his normal "taste" but he did spy Micheal Jackson in there, which was good enough. Probably would be a good sound track to their campaign too.  
Blowing off the record and wiping it with his Black Sabbath shirt, the sleeves of course cut off and the new cuff edges frayed, he placed it onto the turntable and set down the arm of the player, the sounds of "Beat It" starting as Tex sat back and let the vinyl play. He found himself a random book off the shelf, Lord of The Flies, and laid down on the couch with his boots kicked up. The kids quieted, finally starting their shenanigans as Texas relaxed and began to read.

* * *

It only took 2 hours before the kids were crying for dinner, groaning at Texas. Dear god was it a pain to deal with these gremlins.  
"Is there nothing in the fridge?" he blankly stated, a bit of an annoyed undertone coming through. His brown eyes scowled over the book, invested in the story and comfy in the couch cushions.  
"Theres only milk and beer. I dont want milk or beer."  
"You have to be kidding-" Texas got up with a grunt, going to look into the fridge. Only milk and beer. Fuck. Looks like it was takeout night then. "I'll order pizza then." The kids unanimously cheered, clearly happy with pizza even though Texas was frankly sick of the greasy shit. He was also starting to put on a few pounds, so maybe that's why he was having second thoughts. He didn't have much of a choice though, unless he wanted to go to the grocery store. This area of town was farther out and only had one place that delivered, and that was Mike's Pizzeria.  
He picked up the soft green blue kitchen landline, starting to dial the local pizzerias number off of the pamphlet that was magnetized to the side of the fridge next to him. He wished this area of town had more take out, not really wanting _fucking pizza_. The line attempted to connect for a few moments before it clicked, Texas going to speak before he was cut off.  
"Hi, this is Mike's Pizzeria. We are currently closed, please call again or visit us when we're open on April 15th." Fucking wonderful. Today was the 7th... and he didn't exactly think they were going to make it till next week for food.  
Texas must have huffed in annoyance and smacked the landline down into the receiver a little too hard, the kids seeming alarm.  
"...the pizza?" Jamie asked quietly, eyebrow raised.  
"Yeah just ordered it, it’s coming in next week." He stated sarcastically "Shit is closed." In a moment of annoyance all of the kids groaned, Tex just nodding. At least this meant no more worrying about having to eat pizza.  
"Well what are we gonna do? We're in the middle of a game and-"  
"Yeah, yeah I know. Look we have to go to the grocery store if you don't wanna fucking starve kids so get your little boney asses up and get in the car."  
"But we're in the middle of an important part!!" Sam pouted, gesturing at the game. The other kids seemed to be more worried about having to get in Texas's car.  
"Just play while we're in the car or the store, c'mon."  
Texas grabbed his keys, checking to make sure the spare to the house that Mrs. Brookes had given him as his _personal_ copy still on the key ring. It was.

The kids pushed in their chairs, grabbing a few dice as they grabbed their coats and followed Tex out to the car.

* * *

Surprisingly the kids did well in the car, Frank, Claire, Julia, and Jamie in the back all bunched together without seatbelts (as was customary in the 80's because fuck seatbelts & Tex had ripped them out while he installed the cars roll cage) and Sammy in the front chatting his ass off and halfway turned backwards in his seat. Thank god for that racing harness keeping him in it even. The others sat in the back seat, roll cage semi encasing them. Frank was laying his arms and chin on the blue metal bar, watching out the window as he talked to Sam.

The muscle car thundered down the street, revving up louder as Tex upshifted and cruised down the road.  
"What are we even getting at the store? You guys have food you want?"  
He looked in the mirror, watching them look at each other. They all shrugged, causing him to sigh and pinch his nose bridge a little in frustration.  
"Okay- fuck. Uh... Mrs. Brookes gave me a 50, so why don't you guys spread out and get whatever thing you each want for dinner. Don't get the whole fucking store though okay, this 50 bucks is splitting between the 6 of us. $7.50 at most or partner up on what to get." The kids all nodded, seeming to like that. Texas was probably just gonna get a salad... and maybe some rocky road ice cream.... maybe.

* * *

  
Texas pulled up on the grocery store, slowing down a little before suddenly speeding up and practically whipping the car into the parking lot with a wolfish grin as the tires squealed. He'd been a nice driver for most of the ride, but he did want to scare the kids at least once as a reminder. The kids screeched, Texas just laughing at the fact he has scared the fuck out of them. They all were pinned up against the side of the car, him just giving sly smile in the rearview mirror.  
"Fuck you Rex! That was so mean!" Jamie shouted, Claire and Frank nodding in the back seat with big wide saucer eyes.  
"Oh it was just a little toss around, you’re all fine." drawled Texas as he found a place to park, turning the key and popping off the race harness.  
"Watch the doors dipshits, I'm not paying if you scratch my doors or someone else's." The kids just stuck their tongues out at him, pushing down Sams seat and escaping under the roll cage and into the store.

Tex had originally planned on just letting them loose but seeing as how rowdy they were getting, now picking back up conversation on their campaign, he decided to stay close and tail them.  
The kids eagerly chatted as they jumped back into their game finally, calling out things to each other and rolling the dice. Eyes turned to them as they either cursed under their breath at a bad roll or cried out in excitement at a good one in the middle of the store. Some little sword fight even seemed to happen in slow motion, them rolling the dice over the nasty ass old tile floor and picking it back up. ' _Fucking disgusting_ ' thought Tex, planning on grabbing hand sanitizer for them. The thought of all of the germs and other shit on that dirty, aged, barely mopped floor grossed him out. He tried to act like he didn't know them, instead finding stuff for whatever salad he was going to make while he kept his other eye on the kids.  
  
They ran down the aisles, Texas walking to the ends of them and trying to look busy while he watched over like a weird, brunette with blonde streaks, mulleted, dressed in all black and skinny jeaned guardian angel. He bit down on his lip ring, the vertical labret jutting out with his lip as he nervously chewed and surveyed the scene. He took his eyes off them for a moment, spotting a little premade salad box by deli counter. He debated for a moment before quickly walking over and snatching it up, before he turned and made his way down the frozen aisle, trying to relocate the kids. He didn't see them in the produce section.... maybe they were over by the counters on the other side with the bakery? Who the fuck knew- he did want to find them though, feeling his nerves rise in his stomach. He took another step forward, peaking up the aisle a little more, the section to his left now visible. Relief washed over him, the kids all gathered up trying to pick out soda. Thank fucking god.  
Tex looked back at where he was, looking into the walk in freezer. There was his ice cream....  
He opened it quickly and snatched it, sort of debating on hiding it. He could probably just say it was for on one of the kids.... something like that.  
  
The kids spotted him, Sammy grinning at him with his precious, still chubby cheeks. He gestured for Texas to come over, Tex rapidly obliging and coming over.  
"Sprite bottle or coke?"  
They looked at him, big eyes waiting for an answer.  
"....why don't you just like roll on it? Even for Sprite, odd for Coke... or something nerdy like that."  
They all smiled, nodding and shaking up the dice before rolling it down onto the floor.  
  


* * *

Texas sat uncomfortably in line, holding a large sprite bottle while the kids were trying to make him carry everything.  
" _No. I'm not carrying that all. I already took the sprite you fucks."_ he quietly hissed under his breath at them, drawing his lip into an annoyed line as he watched the products move on the rolling belt that lead up to the cashier, whom he could not see.   
The kids just giggled, waiting for Texas to give them the okay to put their stuff on the track to be run up.  
  
The elderly woman in front of them FINALLY finished, handing the hidden cashier her money before moving along. Texas practically slammed down the stuff, relieved to get it out of his hands finally. His fucking palm was freezing from holding the ice cream for so long. He remembered the hand sanitizer, grabbing one of the little keychains they had at the check out before he turned back to face the cashier, who’s pale face was tilted down.   
"Paper or plastic?" Benji Loomis said absentmindedly, not even looking up from picking his nails.  
The voice and the presence of the man sent a nervous lump into Texas's throat, him straightening up to the other guy who hadn't even looked at him yet. The heels and sole of his boot made him ever so slightly taller than the guy, but still not tall enough to make him comfy. It was a simply question, but Ben's presence alone made him feel intimidated. It felt like Ben, with his pale skin and dark, almost black but still brown hair, even with his eyes not focused on Tex, was staring through him.  
"Paper. _"_  
Ben looked up, looking surprised. Texas just tried to make himself as big as possible, like he was attempting to scare off a bear. Ben paused for a moment, almost taking him in, before nodding and starting to enter in prices for each item.  
The kids didn't seem to notice, to busy chatting away about how they were going to strategize a final take down over dinner for the ever so alluding 7 armed telepathic beast. Ben raised an eyebrow at it. Tex just scowled at him with a _'stop looking at them and do your job, bitch'_ look in his eyes. Ben obliged.

Ben was ever so popular, girls constantly hanging around him and his possé. He was also usually spotted at or hosting house parties, sometimes for a reason like his birthday and then other times just because he could. Nothing too odd for a highschool popular kid, but it still bothered Texas. He hated people like Ben, the ones who constantly had to be in the limelight and have their names in everyone's mouth. That, and then just the way Ben looked at him. Whenever he passed him in the halls, he felt like Ben bore holes through him. Like he saw through the facade, and it made his skin crawl. He _loathed_ the presence of Ben and wished for him to just disappear or stop whatever the hell thing he had that made Tex so damn uncomfortable.   
  


“You dyed your hair this weekend, huh Rex?” Ben blurred out, looking up for a moment. Texas looked at the kids who hadn’t even noticed the presence of Ben or the tension happening.  
”Yeah. What did you want me to cut some off for you to put in a little locket?” Tex’s voice dripped with a venom, meant to silence Ben. Ben of course refused to give in to it, rolling his eyes as he entered in the price of a frozen pizza the kids grabbed.  
”You wish.”

Texas could have growled at him, practically feeling the vomit in his stomach rising as his unease at Ben’s presence and the public setting rose. He could almost feel his cheeks getting hot, but clearly it wasn’t showing enough to where Ben noticed. He just sighed before going back to calculating the total and placing the items in the brown paper bag. Texas wished he would hurry it the fuck up as he felt his palms get sweatier and his leg wanting to bounce.  
”Total is 36.72, cash or c-“  
Texas shoved the $50 at him, sputtering out a “Change is 13.72. Give me a 10 and you can keep the 3.72 as pity change for working in this damn shithole.”  
Ben blinked a few times, confused, then quickly just doing what Texas asked and placing the 10 in his palm.  
”Thanks for the-“  
Tex ignored him, grabbing the bag and shoving it into Sammy’s arms.   
“Carry this you or I’m gonna leave you all on the side of the road for coyotes to eat or something.”  
Tex quickly walked off, walking faster than normal and pushing the stores door to the outside open with a slam. The vomit he had felt coming on began to settle, his nerves calming down now that he was outside. Away from Ben and the all seeing eyes of his that made Tex paranoid. 

He was gonna fucking devour that ice cream when he got home as a comfort because what the fuck just happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> trying something out! Ive never written on Archive of our own but I figured I would try it out since the formatting seems to help me write for some reason.  
> I'll most likely keep adding onto this and just develop my story here so i guess enjoy?  
> Kudos' are appreciated <3


	2. Don’t Stand So Close To Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the previous run in with Ben at the grocery store, Texas is still shaken up.  
> It gets worse though when like any classical story, he gets stuck having to do a project with him.  
> (also trying out a new spacing style to make this easier to read)

Texas sat on the edge of his bed, pushing his boot heel against his desk while his hands held the leather cuff of it, tugging. It was 7 AM on a Wednesday, the sun was up, and he was struggling to get his boots on to head out the door. He pulled the boot again, grunting a little before his heel slipped down into the sole. Thank fucking god.  
Tex ran a hand through his expertly hair sprayed locks, peaking in the mirror to admire himself for a moment. Finding a slight imperfection, he took up a can of aqua-net he pulled a golden strand out in front of his face, twisting it around his finger and spraying it into a curl. He let it fall down, adjusting it a little to his liking before smiling. Perfect.  
He took contorted his face a few times like a teenage girl would, making sure he looked pretty and that his expressions came off they he wanted. They did and it satisfied him enough to where he grabbed his jacket and headed downstairs.

"Sam, you ready?"

Tex called as he rushed down the steps, watching his pointed boots on the carpeted stairs to make sure he didn't fall.

  
"In a minute! I'm finishing breakfast!!"

Sammy yelled back at him, Texas jumping off of the stair case and making his way into the kitchen. Sammy was pulling on his school bag, a plate of waffles on the kitchen island that he had been eating. Tex came up and took up the opportunity to finish them off, snatching up the previously used fork and spearing one, then popping the chewy thing into his mouth.

  
"This is good Sammy, you make these?" 

  
"Yeah, I did- I found the recipe in grandma's cooking box."

He pointed to a little red tin box, that normally sat in the back of the counter next to their coffee maker, which contained their grandmother had filled with her recipes over the years.

  
"Nice, you should make them more often."

He finished off the plate, passing it over the Sammy to put in the sink. "You ready to go?"

  
"Yup, I put your lunch in the car." He stated as he put the plate in the sink and turned back. Texas softly smiled at that, reaching over the counter and ruffling Sam's hair before giving him a small kiss on the forehead in a rare moment of elder brother affection.

"You're the best dude."

* * *

After dropping Sam off at the middle school, making sure he went inside like he was his mother, Tex pulled out of the drop off line and into the high school parking lot that was adjacent to the middle school. He tended to stay away from student parking since thats where most accidents happened, instead going into the back of the football fields parking area. It was usually more deserted and, it meant he could sneak out to the car to smoke and no one would notice since the car would be out of view.   
Parking the Buick in his normal space, he took the key out of the ignition as he gathered up his shit and got out. It was a bit gloomy out, the sky grey and looking like it was going to rain later on, the clouds hovering with ill intention. Tex frowned a little, hoping the car wouldn't get full of mud and dirt/water marks from the sloppy road on the way home. 

Locking the car he turned towards the school, surveying the scene for a moment. Jen Leschneck was sitting on a car with her best friend Amy Zebowizks, Amy tying Jens hair up with a scrunchie only for Jen to make a dick sucking motion and make Amy burst out laughing. Texas just gagged a little in disgust from the back of the parking lot at it.   
The football team guys were throwing a ball around from between their trucks in student parking, a few of their girlfriends egging them on. And the rest of the popular kids and him....... were engaged in a story time over cigarettes by the batting cage. Ben Loomis was busy entertaining a girl who was practically smothering him with her hair, his friends with their girls as they smirked and cracked jokes. Probably shit talking or planning another party full of underage kids drinking and having terrible sex. Not something he wanted to attend....

He decided to redirect his attention and pretend he wasn't there, pulling out a cigarette and fumbling around for a lighter in his jean jacket pockets. He found a random hot pink one he'd snatched from his mother and lit up, taking a calming drag to sooth himself. God Ben made him somehow irrationally nervous, pissed, and uncomfortable all at the same time, and it made no sense to him. The constant feeling of Ben somehow reaching into him like he was trying to read him made him want to curl up in a ball. Whatever the hell the feeling he has was enough to make him feel horrible and actively avoid Ben as much as possible despite a slight fucked up fascination with him.   
His popularity made no true sense to Texas, and his odd behavior and constant switching of girlfriends made Tex trying to keep up with the whirlwind of Benji.

The first period bell sounded, Tex groaning about the fact he had to go to class and stop smoking to take the edge off for a while. He was absolutely despising the fact that class also included Ben.

* * *

Texas wanted to pull up the hoodie of his jacket, feeling Ben’s eyes staring again, but didn’t because of the fact it would mess up his hair. He’d spent so much time curling, hair spraying, and pinning it that he wasn’t going to let the shit get messed up from some stupid guy and a hoodie.

  
“Today we’ll be starting one of our final projects, which requires partners. We have an equal amount of students in class so everyone needs to partner up. I’ll give you first pick, and then those who don’t have partners will be assigned one.”

  
The anxiety to race to your best friend in the class amped up, Texas oblivious to it as the teacher continued to talk, grabbing the projects outline/lab packet and starting to pass it out. Texas had no real concerns about partners. He would probably work with some girl he got assigned to and just tell her to give him the work, do it all, and then not show up for class for a week so he couldn’t be asked by the Psychics teacher about it. He was not really friendly to anyone in the school, so he had no friend options like the others may have to get concerned about. 

“Rex.”

Oh fuck no. Forget about the no partner concern, he had one partner who he was concerned about. Tex didn’t even turn around to look at Ben, who was calling his name. He just looked away, trying to pretend Ben was like some ghost that he was deaf too as he felt every nerve in his body prick up in alarm. That guy still gave him the most nervous, uncomfortable feeling in the world. Texas had never felt it before, and he absolutely did not want to keep feeling it.

”Rex do you want to be partners?” He asked, an odd, drippy almost flirty tone underneath his voice. Tex noticed it, but took it and the offer as an annoying joke.

”No, fuck off.” Texas flatly stated, not even looking at Ben. He didn’t look to see his reaction, just heard a little huff and figured Ben would go find a girl who was a fling of his in class to work with. The teacher slapped a packet onto his desk as she passed by, making her way back to her desk.

”Rex, no partner?” She questioned once she was back at the desk.

  
He nodded, not looking up as he was still thinking about whatever the hell Ben was trying to do.

  
”Alright.... Ben why don’t you have JoyAnne work with Maddie, and you can work with Rex. Does that work for you?”

  
Oh fuck no. That did not work for Rex.

  
”Mhm, 100% works for me.” Ben said before Tex could do anything to object. "Good! Now for this assignment we will be-" the teacher began rambling on, Texas tuning it out.

  
Ben was making his way over and Tex could not avoid his eyes this time, and he hated it. He was not in the mood to A. joke around with Ben or B. even get near the dude again, the feeling of nervousness getting worse and now he felt hot vomit rising up in his throat.

  
" _SO_... when do you wanna work on this?" Ben casually asked, sitting down in a desk a little to close to Texas. He could practically feel Ben against his side, and the feeling made him shiver.

  
" _What?_ " Tex snarled suddenly, turning to him finally and staring him down like a pitbull sizing up another dog. He moved farther away in his seat, trying to get far away from Benji who's obnoxiously blue eyes were staring back.

  
"...the work? ...When do you wanna do it?" He cocked an eyebrow up, almost in a _"what the hells the matter with you?"_ way.

  
Texas tried to open his mouth but everything felt dry, nervous, and unsteady. He just blinked for a second, his face melting from the snarl into a frown as he tried to figure out why his voice wouldn't work. Ben obviously noticed that Tex was having some form of issue, so he took control.

"Y'know Rex lets just do this-" Ben grabbed the packet off of Texas's desk, freeing the pencil that sat normally in the crook of his ear and starting to write on the corner of it. "I'm gonna write you a reminder, after school today you're gonna wait for me & we're gonna drive to my job, and we can do the project tonight. 'Kay? 'Kay." Tex sat there like a big stupid puppy, Ben's much scrawnier self able to pretty much manhandle him all of a sudden out of shock. Ben put the pencil back up on his ear, pushing the paper back and then going to sit lean back in his seat and do that little nail thing. He would pick at them, almost tearing them thiner and shorter and pushing back his cuticles. It confused Tex, but definitely not as much as the partner situation, the weird tone Ben had, and how Texas's body was reacting to the closest he'd ever been to Ben. 

  
"O-okay..." Ew he did not like that voice quiver. He felt flustered almost, like he was ready to just melt into a puddle of warm slush in his seat. Ben just nodded next to him, Texas deciding he needed to focus on something else to try and not embarrass himself while he was in this state. He settled for reading the project outline, which was for an experiment involving Hookes Law... at least this wouldn't be that bad. The materials they needed had been neatly set in pre-made Tupperware buckets, sitting at the front of the classroom. Texas spied the blue lidded one, seeing that the materials looked newer and it generally looked cleaner.... the others looked like they had been taken from an biohazard with the weird stains on the buckets and the aging of the materials. Hesitantly, he nudged Ben for the first time. He felt weirdly warm, Tex clearing his throat.

  
"Grab that blue bucket."

  
"Why, is blue your favorite color or something?"

  
"Shut the fuck up. Grab the blue one because the shit in its new."

  
Ben did indeed get the blue bucket when given the opportunity, like Tex asked.

* * *

Texas sat on the edge of his cars hood, right above the wheel well as "Down In Mexico" by The Coasters played. The cars of the others pulled out of the parking lot as the song ominously sang about a cat named Joe in a bar in Mexico, Texas smoking a cigarette and feeling his resting face glare at the cars as they passed.  
He watched the school doors, waiting for Ben to emerge. He intended to get back at him for all of the nervous feelings once he figured out where the fuck they were going. Every feeling of nervousness he got around Ben had to be intentional... it had never happened before and it seemed to be a Ben exclusive situation. He didn't know how exactly Ben was doing it but he knew had had something to do with it... He _had_ to have something to do with it....

It took a few minutes but Ben came out of the school building, chatting up some shorter girl who was carrying a blue binder of his. They talked and nodded for a moment before she shyly handed back the binder, blonde curls bouncing and her white go go boots gleaming in the sun. Tex did have to admit, she was pretty cute with her soft cheeks and delicate curls. She must've been new or something... cool. He felt a goofy little smile emerging on his face as he watched her walked away, her little Daphne from Scooby Doo esque outfit and her bouncy hair disappearing into the school.  
Ben noticed him, smiled, and headed over. Rex of course dropped his smile at that, not wanting to seem like he was smiling at Ben's shifty self... he still didn't like the guy and what he did to him.

  
"Rex! You ready to go?" He sounded excited, like a kid about to go with his mommy on a trip to the ice cream store. Texas shifted upwards on the cars hood, straightening up a little as he felt the nervous butterflies come back.

"Sure. Where the fuck are you dragging me out to asshole?" He drawled, trying to sound calm.

"Radio station, the one up by the lighthouse." Texas paused, pursing his lips and cocking his head.

"The rock and heavy metal station?" He asked all caught off guard.

  
"Yeah. I work there and sort the tracks. I'm the voice on the radio?? Or _I was the voice on the radio_ if you don't get going."

  
Texas just blinked, confused about it all. That was Ben's voice he listened to every night??? What the fuck... huh. Maybe thats why he made him feel so weird, it was the feeling of knowing him somehow but being unsure on how he knew him. He turned back to the car though and nodded, getting in and watching Ben circle around to his side. He decided to be a bit of an asshole though, starting up the car when Ben got right behind it. Texas watched him through the rear view mirror, watching him jump at the blow of hot exhaust on his leg and flap his arms around like a chicken who got its feathers ruffled. His nervous feeling drained into a smirk, the confidence of having some form of power over Ben with the car taking control.

  
"...Why does you car have race harnesses?"

  
"What, your little oldsmobile doesn't have them?" Texas made a fake pouty face at him, patting the seat. "C'mon, I won't kill you." The cat like grin that had overcome Texas said otherwise.  
Ben seemed to open his mouth, him now the speechless one. "Oh don't be chicken shit Loomis, it's just a car. It cant be any worse than all of those roller coasters you and your little girlfriends like to go on for dates." Ben seemed to respond to the chickenshit comment, snarling a little at Tex. There was the Ben Loomis he wanted to see, the one that made him seem more like a shitty popular rival he craved and not some weird butterfly causing bitch.

"Fuck you and drive." He slipped into the seat and buckled the harness, glaring at Texas like he wanted to kill him. Texas grinned about it.  
  
They pulled out of the parking lot slowly, Texas avoiding the others who were not paying attention to where they drove. This seemed to calm Ben who settled down in his seat, the blue bin for their project in his hands and his backpack on the cars floor mat.

"Put that on the floor in the back." He gestured, motioning to the items. Ben turned to do so, noticing the roll cage and groaning.

  
"Great you race too, huh."

  
"Yeah of course I do. What, did you think everything was for show?" He raised an eyebrow, looking at Ben who sat all wrapped up in his car seat. He looked good there, thats where he should stay... _wait what?_

  
"How'd you get this car?" Ben interrupted, Tex jerking out of his weird thought and pulling up in line, nearing the front. 

  
"How'd you get so fucking nosy?" Texas shot back. The discomfort had slipped away a decent bit, but now it seemed to be back at that... weird thought of Ben tangled up in his car seat, him looking all pissed off and shit...

"God sorry for asking." He rolled his eyes, thumb reaching up at the mirror in the headboard. He flipped it down and looked at himself for a moment, musing up his hair with his hands in the car seat. _God he was hot_ \- ....WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT THOUGHT?! The alarm bells in Texas's head suddenly were screaming as he snapped his eyes away, seeing it was his turn to go. He felt hot and flushed, stomping down on the pedal and scaring the shit out of Ben as he ripped out onto the main road and roaring down it with the Buicks heavy metal carcass. No more thoughts, just speeding to the station to get the fuck out of this box with Ben.   
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Im Gonna try to continue to update this! I honestly don’t think anyone will read it but it is therapeutic to write and it’s nice. Kudos’ are appreciated!


	3. Material Girl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Texas suffers when he realizes that Ben actually isn't as terrible as he thought, and he gets to fanboy over Motley Crue memorabilia.  
> And yes I know Theatre of Pain was released in June but for story elements we're gonna say it was out earlier in '85.
> 
> Song for this chapter is Material Girl by Madonna ;)

The buick hummed as it pulled into the parking space of the station, the engine softly gargling as Ben gripped the dashboard with twitchy white knuckles. 

_"You are such an asshole."_ He hissed, shaken eyes staring at Texas with a livid face. Tex had whipped the car all the way to station in his panic of feelings, completely forgetting he had a passenger who was not used to his erratic driving and style of sudden speeding down busy roads as a stress reliever.  
  
"I didn't kill you though?" He shyly stated, shrugging a little with a nervous smile about the situation. Ben couldn't have rolled his eyes more at the statement with his face paler and more sickly looking than normal.

"I need to get out and lay down."   
"Alright."  
Ben unbuckled himself and pushed the heavy door open, rolling out onto the ground and flopping to the pavement like a dead fish... Oops. Texas took the moment of Ben's recovery to put himself back together, unbuckling and resting back in the seat with exhaustion while he let the car spool down.  
What. The. Fuck.  
What the fuck were the thoughts back there? Texas stared up at the headboard, feeling his body slump a little as his mind swam with confusion. Was he just tired or feeling sick? He knew he hadn't eaten or digested anything but the smoke of a cigarette he'd had for lunch... maybe that was it. That and then the fact he was in a new environment, with someone who made him oddly uncomfortable with whatever witchcraft he used- yeah that was why. Nothing to worry about just some nerves.  
Texas looked over to Ben, who was still laying on the parking lot ground in pain. It was great to see Ben's ego deflate like a balloon, and it honestly was pretty funny. Snatching the keys out of the car, Texas opened up his door and grabbed the bags + the bin from the back before he headed over to Ben's side.  
"Ugh.. I fuckin' feel sick..."  
"Yeah I would figure sweet cheeks. C'mon, get up." Texas leaned down, offering a hand as Bens smooshed face looked back at him with a groan. He obliged though, rolling over and grabbing up Tex's hand. He felt a thump in his chest and a bit of heat as he made full on contact for the first time, giving a little tug that boosted Benji to his feet.

"You good?"  
"Mm.. I need to lean on you for a minute." Before he could say no though, Ben was laying his head on his chest and practically cuddling himself there. Texas felt his entire body go hot as he just sat there, confused, slightly panicked, and oddly elated but comfortable with the other guy just chilling there.  
"Your chest is nice... and you're warm." He didn't look up, just kept his head burrowed to the side while he slowly caught his breath.  
"...Yeah... Okay now get the fuck off-" Tex quickly pushed him off, no longer sure of how comfortable he should get with the situation. Ben seemed disappointed but he did get off, grumbling a little before he rubbed his face a little, regained his composure, and took his bag from Texas. He nodded a little then started his walk to the station across the parking lot.

* * *

Ben pushed open the door, the light breeze of a barely running AC hitting Texas as he followed him in.

  
"I work till 4 AM, you can hang out for as long as you want. In between our project I just gotta make sure I flip the vinyls and occasionally introduce the songs. Pretty simple." 

Texas didn't respond, too fascinated as they walked down the hallway into the booth. The halls were decked in a weird 70's like wood paneling, them passing a bathroom and some other rooms that were closed off and shuttered. A few concert posters and a bulletin board hung in the hallway, Ben walking too quick for Texas to clearly read any of them. He turned back to look at Ben, who had slowed in front of an open room.  
A messy desk with a fax machine sat on a long fold up table, along with a soundboard, a few mics, a whole vinyl station, and more and more. The amount of tech equipment that Rex had never seen before was immense, him drowning in it as they passed the booth window and Benji opened the door to the poster covered room.

The booth was a bit musty, clearly older and a bit on the rundown side with its tile ceiling that had string lights strung through it & slightly peeling wood panel walls. The desk was littered with faxes of information, along with paperwork that looked legal and then some other random post it notes. Ben pushed an orange rolling chair at him, taking a seat in a green padded one that was in front of the desk.

"When this light-" he pointed to a little 'LIVE' sign above the desk, which was currently unlit, "comes on, you gotta be quiet because we're on air." He eyed Tex for another moment before picking up a black headset and putting it on. "You all good?" He asked, looking back at Tex.

"Yup." He plopped down in the chair, putting his bag against the wall and deciding to go through the bin quietly. 

"Great, going live."

The sign came on, Ben slipping into a radio voice as he switched something on the sound board and leaned into the mic.   
"Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, this is Ben from Station 87.5, bringing you the top heavy metal and rock hits alongside others. Tonight we've got a very special set of the new Motley Crue album, ' _Theatre of Pain_ ', alongside other greats with Black Sabbath, Def Leppard, Skid Row, Poison, and more. Please enjoy ' _Smoking In the Boys Room_ ' off of the new album." 

The live sign switched off as Ben pressed some more buttons, quickly put down a vinyl on the table to his right and turning up the sound as the song came in. Texas had yet to hear it, Ben lifting off his headphones and letting them settle around his neck.  
"Pretty easy, right?"

"You guys have the new Crue album already??" 

"...Yeah? We're one of the biggest rock and metal stations in Washington state, why wouldn't we?"

He raised an eyebrow, looking at Tex as he processed it. "You're into this stuff... huh. Here you want the album?" Ben turned around for a moment and rifled through a pile, handing over a slip cover and an extra vinyl. "We got two on Monday, probably everyone in Spokane will have one by the end of the week." He shrugged, Texas left to turn the vinyl over in his hands. The cover art wasn't what he expected and neither was the title, but damn did it look good. The back of the slip was the band, Nikki holding a scarf over his mouth while Vinces blonde self in white stood out like a sore thumb against the more darker dressed members. Clever idea.

"Awww, you're smiling." Texas's head shot up, Ben smirking at him, leaning back in the chair.  
  
"No I'm fucking not-" Tex probably was smiling, but he shoved the vinyl and its slip back to Ben. "It's just interesting you got it so early." He tried to casually state, leaning back in his chair.  
  
"Yeah right." Ben rolled his eyes playfully, pointing at a crate full of vinyls. "If you want, you can look through those. You'll probably find something interesting, I know the station owner likes to collect rare stuff."

Texas hesitated, narrowing his eyes a little before he scooted over and snatched the crate, setting it on his lap to look through with a hidden glee. Nobody ever let him fuck around and rifle through their vinyls, especially collectors. If he had the extra cash he probably would have been a collector himself.

* * *

It took awhile but after hours had passed, and Tex had gone through more vinyls and cigarettes then any normal person would have, he kicked Ben's side with a boot lightly and urgently signalled for him to come over to look. Ben gave him an odd look, but pulled off his headphones and adjusted the sunglasses that he'd put on because of the sunset flooding through the window.  
"Yes?" He asked, rolling his chair over next to Texas.

"Dude!!! Dude dude _dude-_ " He was grinning, gently turning over the vinyl in his hand, pointing at it. "It's signed!!!" In his hands was a _Too Fast For Love_ vinyl, signed by the members of Motley Crue. Ben sat there, shrugging and unimpressed.

"And? We have tons of stuff signed by them. I would have figured you would have liked the Black Sabbath albums in there, why are you so obsessed with Motley Crue?"

 _Because Nikki Sixx is fucking hot, duh._  
"You have more signed shit??"

Ben seemed a little annoyed at the question, as if it was something surprising. "Yes, we have more signed shit. I'll show it to you in a minute- give me a vinyl or something to play while you're over there you wannabe groupie."

"I'm not a wannabe groupie."

"Says the blonde, hair obsessed, overly excited bitch in man heels. Pass me a vinyl."

Texas went to retort back but just flipped him off instead, throwing a random Pantera vinyl at him. He smirked when the black plastic smacked Ben in the arm with a satisfying slap. Ben begrudgingly took it up and pulled his headset on again, doing his thing while the other was still admiring the signed vinyl in his hands.   
Ben rolled back over a minute later, a black box in his hands that Tex hadn't noticed before.  
"Here's all the other stuff, there's like signed lanyards and keychains and I think some nip bottles." He popped the top of the box off, handing it over to Texas and curling his legs up underneath him in the chair that he had once again scooted back next to Tex, who looked dumbstruck. "What, are you not gonna look through it?" He asked, gesturing at the box impatiently.   
"Shit sorry."  
Texas began to rifle through with care, gently picking up each item to stare at and marvel over. There were keychains galore, signed papers, random cassettes, the un opened nip bottles Ben mentioned, demos, photographs (...there were a LOT of girls with the band, tits full display... like a lot), and more. What really caught his eyes though was a necklace, buried deep at the bottom underneath countless other items.  
He pulled it out, producing one of Nikki's black and red guitar picks and a dusted, unshot silver bullet strung together on a delicate chain. He'd never seen it before, clearly not an item for sale and a personal gift of some sort.  
"Oh you found that. He say's its from Nikki or something, I didn't really pay attention when he brought it in though since I was stoned. It's been in there for years, he barely touches the box." Ben interjected, leaning inwards, poking the bullet with a bruised and band aided finger. "Pretty sure the bullets Nicholas's too." Texas sat in amazement, not even bothering to correct Ben on Nikki's name, just staring at the necklace cradled and draping off of his palms. It was like a gift from god, the beauty of it shimmering in the sunsets light.  
  
"You want it?"

" _What?!_ " Texas coughed a gasp, eyes popping out and him looking like he had just gotten sucker punched in the throat. "I- repeat that again?" He asked through watery eyes, still a little shocked.

"I said, do you want it? It's a simple question." Benji casually stated, leaning back in the chair and gesturing at the necklace. "It's not like Ray ever touches it." Texas assumed Ray was the owner, and the one who this dusty necklace technically belonged to.

"I- I couldn't. It's worth way too much and it's not even something I need- I don't even know what I'd do with it- I can't dude-"

"Damn, okay! I get it, no need to ramble blondie. Give me it." Ben snatched it back, dropping it in the box that he took back as well. "There. Pass me another vinyl." 

Texas stayed still with his mouth open, surprised at everything and a little disappointed. He should have said yes... fuck. He frowned and nodded, turning back to the vinyl crate and filing through. Once again, he felt Ben's eyes on him but he was too embarrassed to look up and check on what he was looking at. For now, he just continued to thumb through the records till he found something good.

* * *

It was 9 now, the sun finally set and night upon them. Tex had gone outside to the payphone, leaning in the little dimly lit booth, metal phone to his ear as he talked to Sammy, who was busy creating a new DnD character at a Frank's house.

"Don't stay up too late, okay? You have to go to sleep or else you're gonna be pissed off in the morning, and I'm not driving a bitchy little brother to school." He smiled, Sammy retorting back about how Texas was a bitch everyday but he still put up with him.

"Okay okay, I get it. I'll be home later on, make sure to brush your teeth and do your damn homework you brat.... alright, alright... night Sammy."  
  
The line clicked dead, Texas hanging the phone back up in the receiver as the street light illuminating above him flickered, softly buzzing. The Buick sat on the other side of the lot, dully sitting there as though it was a beast laying dormant under a shell. He smiled, crushing out his cigarette in the phone booths ashtray and heading back inside. 

The building was quiet now, the soft sound of the music from the sound booth able to be heard from the hallway as Texas slowly strode down it. Ben was correct, there was a lot of signed stuff. Posters, framed photographs with bands, news clippings, etc lined the halls along with random schedules for when bands were playing, shift schedules for DJ's, and a few random autographs on the walls that were hard to make out with the darkness of the place.  
Picking up his pace, Tex made his way back into the booth, pushing open the door and looked directly at Ben, whom was holding his bag and rifling through it.

"Hey, the fuck are you doing?! Get the hell out man!" He snatched the bag up, smacking Ben's hands to make him release the brown object in his clutches. Texas's wallet fell to the grey carpeted floor with a thud, him grabbing it back up without a second thought and shoving in into the bag.  
"What is wrong with you?" He hissed at Ben, zipping the bag up.

"'Was just snooping. I found your drivers license, which I didn't even think you would have with how you drive. Your name isn't Rex, it's Texas? Texas Hooper? Are you from T-"

"No. Stop the question train."

"Damn okay... but why the fuck does everyone call you Rex? That's literally a dogs name."

"Because if I go by Texas, everyone asks your dumbass ' _are you from texas?'_ question. And the answer is no, I'm not from Texas. I'm from Ohio."

"Why the hell would you be named Texas if you're from Ohio."

"Do I look like I know?" Tex cocked an eyebrow, still a little huffy.

"Fair point, Texan."

"Can we not call me that?"

"Fine, _blondie_."

"Or that."

"Dolly Parton?"

"....God you don't fucking stop do you?"

He smirked all wide and proud, kicking his legs up on the desk. "Not a chance Dolly."

Great. Now he had earned that nickname for some reason. At least Dolly Parton was cool. She was fun to watch and easy to love in 9-5 with her little pistol and firey platinum blonde spirit as her, Jane Fonda, and Lily Tomlin body snatched and climbed the corporate ladder. He'd have to watch that movie again, that shit was good and even Sammy's _Star War's_ obsessed self agreed it was funny. 

"So... are we ever gonna work on the project?" 

Shit, Texas had forgotten about it entirely, somehow. He nodded, grabbing up the bucket and scooting to the desk. He felt Ben's warmth on his side as he dumped out the bucket, Ben's leg dangerously close to his arm as he once again became hyper aware of his surroundings. He chose to try to focus on the tupperware buckets contents, thankful now that they were all clean and new. No fucking germs or gross shit on them. Hooke's law would be pretty easy to demonstrate with these, him scanning over the prompt of the project and what they were supposed to do. He started to assemble things, Ben watching from behind him with those damn piercing eyes.

"Can you stop trying to laser your eyes through my head, Loomis? I can practically feel your unhelpful stare."

"I'm trying to figure out what you're doing."

"I'm using the clamps and spring in here to make a model with this ruler and the base in here." He waved the items as he said their names aloud, outstretching a hand. "Tape, please? Preferably duct tape."

He felt nothing for a moment, legs disappearing off the desk, and then the suddenness of Ben pressed against his side, practically laying on him. "Your duct tape?" He placed it on top of the other materials, looking confused and slightly bored. "Explain this shit to me, your like smart or something."

"If you- I.. well the duct tape-" Texas began to explain the concept to Ben, trying to avoid panic at the unexpected sudden touch and closeness. God, for someone who looked like he had been buried and re-dug up, he was warmer as ever, something Tex craved as he felt himself go a little closer to Ben's warmth while he showed him what he was going to do with the duct tape.

"Huh. You make it look simple."

"I guess. It's really not that hard when you understand the basics." He shifted his arm, feeling it going against Ben's chest a little. Ben leaned more into it, Texas trying to ease up on himself to just allow it to happen. Ben was comfortingly warm, and it was basic human instincts to let him just get closer. He felt the eyes again on his face, not daring to look over and staring down at the materials in front of him. He began to use his free arm to assemble them, not wanting Ben to be moved away from the other arm, him using his teeth to tear the duct tape and start building.

"You've got sharp teeth.. like a werewolf or something."

"Yeah, and you've got the skin of a vampire. I guess we're meant to be mortal enemies."

"Or friends?"

Tex pursed his lips, daring to look over at Ben, who seemed to be hopefully cradling his arm in the cutest way. He definitely shouldn't have looked, him turning back to the project with a blush.  
"Or that."

Ben sat for a moment in silence before he spoke out, saying a hushed "It's late, you should probably head home."

"Who's gonna bring you home?"

"I take the bus." He replied.

"Oh... well yeah alright, I guess I'll head off. You want me to take this?" Tex gestured to the project.

"...Nah. Leave it here, we can do this again tomorrow. We'll finish then." 

"Alright." He placed the rest of the tape down, the project still barely together but forming with Tex's tape job. "Same time, I'll drive you after school to here?"

"Yeah, but no fucking psychopath serial killer road rage shit. Or else I'm gonna drive the car."

"You couldn't handle or shift that car if you dreamed of it."

"I bet I could." He retorted, examining his nails in an ' _oh please_ ' way.

"You'd rip your arm out and break your leg on the clutch before you even got it out of the parking lot." Texas was now getting up, grabbing his bag. "I'm driving and you're gonna have to deal with it." Ben stuck his tongue out in a childish "fuck you" way, Tex doing it right back as he slung the bag on his shoulders.  
"I'll see you tomorrow. Don't drop dead in fear of my driving by then?"

"Oh I won't Barbie." Again, with the damn nicknames. Texas made his way to the door, opening it and turning back to look over his shoulder for a moment.

"Night Benji."

"Good night Texas."

He stepped out the door, it shutting quietly behind him as he walked through the hall, to the parking lot, and out to the Buick, the flurries of being called his name carrying him the entire time. Tossing the bag in the back, he pulled his keys from his back jeans pocket and started the car with a roar, the engine coming to life and the headlights flickering on to illuminate the desolate area. He turned for a moment back to the station, looking at the soft yellow light coming from the window he assumed was to the booth.   
With a rev he pulled the car out of the space and down the parking lot, switching the blinker on as he took pulled to the exit, looking in the rear view mirror. He could have sworn he could make out the outline of someone, watching him in that window....

He turned back to the road though. Stepping on it, the car screamed forward and onto the asphalt, boosting itself with immense speed to home.

* * *

Tex turned the key out of the ignition, the lights dying out as he watched the porch light of his white house come on, his moms gentle face appearing behind the storm door. Her blonde hair was up in rollers and a few random beer cans, a cigarette in her hand as she waited for him to come say hi.  
  


"Where were you?" She asked in a curious tone, folding her bathrobed arm over the other. "You pick up another shift at the roller rink or go on a date?"

"Ew, no. I wouldn't spend more time with those little snotty roller skating brats, and going on a date on a school night is lame. I was working on a project for physics."

"Oh? Partner project?"

"Yeah. With that Ben dude who works the register at the grocery store. Super pale, dark hair, always has band aids on and bruised up?" He made a gesture to try to mimmic pointing to hair and skin.

"Oh, I know him. He seems nice..."

"He's okay I guess. How's Sammy?" He changed the topic, not wanting to dive to deep into Ben.

"Asleep in his room. He said he'll show you his new character in the morning... it's like a clown or something? I couldn't tell."

"Oh how fun." Texas smirked lazily, nodding the stairs. "I'm gonna head up, you go to sleep though. You're getting eyebags, again." That was his go too to make her rest.

"Am I?" His mother paused, now concerned. An obsession with vanity clearly ran in the bloodline. He nodded, even though it wasn't really true. She frowned, shooing him away and went to go find cucumbers or something like it to lay on her eyes in her sleep. At least she would care for herself a bit and rest, which was good in his book.

Taking the stairs, he headed up to his room and tossed the bag on the unmade bed. The wallet spilled out of the half unzipped backpack, Texas turning to put it back inside. Oddly though, it felt weighter than normal. The fuck was in there?  
He pried it open, almost falling over when he saw it. 

There inside was the necklace, the now polish silver bullet shimmering in the moonlight that peaked in from his window, the guitar pick on the silver chain sitting next to it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kudos' are appreciated & loved!


End file.
